Hybrid working, a combination of physical and digital collaboration will become our way of working at UT.
This page provides you with concrete instruments, relevant workshops, tips & tricks for bringing hybrid working into practice.
UT's hybrid working principles
Your position, team, faculty or service department influences the choices you make in hybrid working. Therefore there is not a one size fits all guideline of approach. It requires customisation and appropriate agreements between you, your team and manager. To start this conversation we have eight basic principles for hybrid working at the UT. Intended to provide you direction and the freedom to experiment in the coming period, in finding a future-proof way of working that suits you, your team, the work and your well-being.
- Working on campus is the foundation
- Meeting on campus regularly is essential for well-being and community building
- Working from home is an option, not an obligation
- While acknowledging individual preferences, we focus on the needs of the team and organisation
- Regard for the well-being of our students and colleagues is at the heart of how we work together
- Teams get maximum freedom for organising hybrid working, with which comes responsibility
- We invest in workspaces both on campus and at home
- We ensure privacy and security in the workspace, both on campus as well as at home and online
These 8 principles were established to provide us guidance on a number of key themes. Nevertheless, the leading factor should remain a combination of the individual perspective and what the team needs in order to achieve the organisational goals. This is in line with the principles in the report of SoFoKleS (‘Hybride werken in het WO’, only available in Dutch), which also acts as the fundament for the principles of hybrid working in the negotiation settlement for the CAO Dutch Universities (published 29th June 2021).
Because of the importance of both the individual perspective and the team needs, we don’t have concrete answers nor a fixed framework that defines the UT hybrid way of working. It is up to you and your manager to explore and arrange the way of working further in the teams, taking into account both the spatial and digital possibilities.
ATTENTION when working from home across the border When an employee lives abroad and works from home, this can have consequences for the tax and social security situation. If someone structurally works 25% or more from home, it means that they are socially insured in their country of residence. This has implications for healthcare insurance, AOW accrual, child benefit, disability insurance, etc. Also, in this situation, the university is obliged to pay social security contributions in the employee's country of residence.
As this can lead to undesirable situations, UT will make separate arrangements for employees who work from home across the border, following the CAO agreement. This may, for example, start to mean that a full-time employee living in Germany can work from home for a maximum of one day a week, in order to avoid a social security switch.
These agreements must be ready by 1 July 2023. Until 1 July 2023, exceptions still apply because of the corona situation.
Corona exception
Employees who normally (as in the pre-corona situation) work in the Netherlands (Campus, ITC building), but work (partly) at home because of the corona crisis, will remain socially insured in the Netherlands. Nothing will change fiscally yet either. These temporary measures are expected to end on 1 July 2023.
More information
As soon as there is more clarity, employees who live abroad will be informed. If you have any questions as a (manager of a) cross-border worker, please ask the HR department of your unit or mail to services-hr@utwente.nl.
Tips & tricks
Besides providing you with background information and the guideline for hybrid working at UT, we also try to support you with practical tips and tricks. The tips and tricks will be expanded over time and are intended for everyone and applicable in all kinds of different situations; managing a project group, a work meeting with one or more colleagues, participating in work- and/or research group even up to the coffee break.
How to talk with your team Now that the world is slowly opening up again and people are returning to the office, it is essential to explore how to organise hybrid work. The talking card from Goodhabitz can help you to start this conversation on an individual and team level. You will also find some training courses there that can help make hybrid work a success like self-knowledge, team knowledge, involvement and job satisfaction.
If you need more support, in addition to the discussion board, for example on counseling and personal development, please contact the Career Development Centre.
Tips for executives and teams Discuss hybrid working within your team Understanding different personalities and 'reboarding' Meet your team: according to Goodhabitz there are 3 types of personas in reboarding. These different kind of personas ask for different kinds of interactions from their team, their manager, and their organisation. The optimist, the positivist and the criticist all have their own reasons and motivations for going back to the office or for working from another location. Most important is to ensure all three feel heard, understood and helped in hybrid working.
Balancing work and private life The futurelearn course 'work life balance and the impact of remote working' investigates the future of work, evaluating how technology allows individuals to work more flexibly, but in the meantime risking less time to switch off and recover from work. This course can help you enhance your work-life balance.
Additionally, the employee well-being page provides an overview of various initiatives to promote your well-being. Visit the site to learn more about the things you can do, or who you can contact for advice on improving your (physical and mental) well-being .
Relevant training courses Revelant training courses can be found in the box below under the heading 'Development offer"
Setting up a healthy home workplace As UT, we find it important that you have a safe and healthy workplace at home, that enables you to work from home in a sustainable way. In order to achieve this, it is important that your home office and the way you work from your home meets several requirements. These requirements, and information on how to check and set up a healthy and durable (home) office workplace can be found on the webpage 'home office workplace'
Many colleagues already have experience with different ways of (hybrid) meetings. From one of our colleuge we received the following 'best practice'
This is how you do hybrid meeting
- All participants (physical and digital) participate digitally via Teams.
- All participants, except the physical host, turn off the microphone and speaker.
- The physical host uses a central microphone/speaker combo (speakerphone, such as Jabra).
Effect
- A high equality of participation
- Digital attendees can see everyone clearly
- Digital attendees are addressed visibly to everyone by physical attendees
Benefit
Simple and cheap (you don't need a big screen, advanced camera and/or speaker).
Do you also have a hybrid meeting way that works well for you and your team? Share it with us!
Development offer
Besides the specific tips & tricks you found above, hybrid working will bring more changes for some employees than for others. Also adapting/switching to this new way of working and thinking will take more effort for some colleagues than for others. Therefore, also take a look at the different training possibilities we offer as standard at the UT that might fit your personal (learning) needs.
If you feel you need more or other support; let your supervisor know.
frequently Asked Questions
We understand that everyone has questions about hybrid working. Below we list the questions we hear a lot with the answer.
How do I determine what is a good balance between working at home and on campus? There is no fixed formula for this. In the coming period, based on what your faculty/service indicates and what you yourself think might work well, try it out first and experience what a good balance is for you.
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Thank you for your feedback
I have been working online for a while now, but I have noticed that my way of presenting/teaching etc. has not always been adapted yet. Where can I find tips for this? You can always use Future Learn or Goodhabitz for relevant trainingen, but also have a look in the coursefinder. We are working on extending our programs with also digital and online skills to make sure you are equiped for a hybride way of working.
*TELT and CELT for support in adapting education
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Thank you for your feedback
I have a job that requires me to be on campus five days a week for my research. Is this still possible? There is no fixed ratio of working at home/on campus. If you need to be on campus the whole week, that is possible. It is important, however, to discuss this with your manager.
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While working completely at home, it has been ensured, with materials from the campus, that I have a good home office. Who will make sure that my workplace on campus is properly equipped again? To ensure that you have the right facilities at both workplaces, it is best to contact your supervisor to discuss which route to take in your faculty/department.
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Can I still order facilities for my home office? Sure, you can still assess whether your workplace has been set up properly via utwente.nl/homeoffice and you can order any additional facilities via the self-service portal.
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What can I do in the event of a conflict, or if someone does not want to work hybrid? If you need help resolving an issue within your team, please contact your HR-advisor.
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What is possible, and what is the procedure, when setting up a (home) office workspace? For information about setting up a (home) office workspace, please visit the dedicated site utwente.nl/homeoffice.
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How can I support my team with staying healthy and avoiding high work pressure in ways other than by helping them set up a healthy workplace? As a superior you have a key role in creating an environment where your employees can carry out their work in a healthy and safe way. On the HR website, you can find a simple guide to various topics on, and possibilities for, keeping your employees healthy and recognising high work pressure.
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Is your question not listed? Please contact...
Hybrid working is something that we do together. Do you have a question and can't find it in the FAQ? Then you will find below the contact details of people to whom you can go with your question.
Questions about teaching (educational support) - TELT Technology Enhanced Learning and Teaching (TELT) assist lecturers and program directors in the effective use of new technologies in their courses. TELT can be contacted through the e-mail adress telt@utwente.nl.
If you have questions or need help setting up your programme, please contact celt. Either submit your question, or make an appointment with one of the advisors by contacting celt-ces@utwente.nl. Alternatively, set up an appointment with the advisors through the secretariat: 053 489 5703.
Questions about ICT (hardware and software) - LISA - LISA provides some support for setting up a home office.
- Microsoft Office 365 is available for UT employees and students. Microsoft Office 365 is a Cloud service that consists of several applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint which can be used both in the Cloud as well as on your own device.
- Teams is the successor to Skype for Business. You can use Teams to invite your colleagues to chat, meet, call and work together. This can all be done in one place, wherever you are. LISA has listed all the information about Teams for you.
Questions about (furnishing) buildings or spaces - CFM For questions about a healthy home workplace set up - VGM HR related questions - your HR department We use the 'ask HR' section in myhr.utwente.nl to answer all your questions. Your request will be automatically submitted to a HR contact in your faculty/service department. They are your first point of contact. For more specific questions, you may be referred to a HR staff member on the central level.
Get in touch with HR and submit your question or request via Ask HR
Not sure which category your question falls under? If you have a question but are unsure who to contact, please contact your HR advisor.
Related links
There are various aspects involved in Hybrid working; for example, it is important to be mindful of your own physical and mental health and to ensure your office is set up properly. Find related information below
For ideas, comments or changes to this page, please email webteam-hr@utwente.nl
